What the New Sprouts Look Like

Depending on when you planted things, you might have sprouts now. Here are some photos to show you what those seedlings will look like when they come up.

But first, here is why chives are a great thing to grow. Not only to they come back year after year, but they do it very early, and in the exact time of year when good garlic is hardest to come by. So you can use fresh chives in things instead of cooked garlic. The photo is of chives in my garden a few weeks ago, so now they're even bigger. I have a few patches, and they repel some problem insects and attract helpful bees when they flower in another month or so.

Now, here are the new sprouts.

Peas (they didn't rot in the cold wet weather!):

Chard:

Next are the mustards. In a previous post, I showed you what all the mustards look like when they first sprout. As sprouts, all these varieties have nearly identical pairs of wide heart-shaped seed leaves, the leaves that open up from within the seed. Broccoli and others in the family have similar seed leaves.

Now that these are all a little older, they still have the heart-shaped seed leaves, but they also have their first so-called true leaves, which show the distinctive shape of each plant type.

Arugula (true leaves have a generally wavy edge and irregular shape):

Red mustard (true leaves are rounded with a toothy edge):

Mizuna (true leaves get long and are very jaggedly toothed):